


The Phoenix

by SunshineA



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, Frostiron Fest 2013, High School AU, M/M, Sexual Content, Tattooed!Loki, Tattooed!Tony, Tony Angst, tattooed!frostiron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2018-01-04 23:24:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunshineA/pseuds/SunshineA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started with Steve Rogers' party , awkward staring and a cigarette.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Phoenix

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ITrustThyLove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ITrustThyLove/gifts).



> First of, Merry Christmas to [cc-randomness](http://cc-randomness.tumblr.com/) aka ITrustThyLove. I hope you'll enjoy this little monster of a one shot *hugs*
> 
> Also, I would like to thank [superwhoavengepottermerlockian](http://superwhoavengepottermerlockian.tumblr.com//) for beta'ing. And of course, [Jess](http://schadenfreudessa.tumblr.com/) for all the support, some more beta'ing and for all the love ♥
> 
> Enjoy, people.

Tony made sure his forearm was covered in foil before he let the sleeve of his red checked shirt fall down to his wrist. He would probably change it in more than twenty-four hours – which was against what his tattoo artist told him, but he was Tony Stark after all; he could do whatever he wanted. Especially when it came to his body.

He got out of his car, slipping his phone into the back pocket of his jeans and his iron cigarette case in the pocket of his shirt by his heart. He would use that – or rather its insides – often tonight, not to mention it was a gift from his mom. He’d rather to keep this one close to make sure he wouldn’t lose it.

He could feel the slight stitch under the foil, but it was light enough that it was easy to ignore it. He summoned his famous smug smile on his face and checked in the side mirror of his car if his hair was just as messy as he wanted it to be. When he approved of his reflection, he straightened up and started towards the door of Steve Roger’s house.

There were already quite a lot of cars on the sidewalks of the whole street, most of which Tony could recognize from their school’s parking lot. The info about the party needed a whole day to spread around everyone and now, a week later Tony would sure lots of people will try and get in. He saw a small group hiding behind the hedgerow on the border of the Rogers family’s plot. He smirked at the view then, feeling pity for the poor guys; it’s not like they had any chances of getting in on _that particular party_. Everyone knew only chosen people could get in.

Tony stopped by the door and knocked loud enough for people in the hallway to hear. The music was already playing inside, but it still wasn’t loud enough for his liking; he was able to enjoy what he was listening to only when it was so loud to make other people’s ears bleed. Or at least hurt. He should have seen that coming, really – Steve never was the one for parties, he came to each one only to make sure his friends were getting back home safe, even if it meant he was spending a night holding their heads above the throne and driving them home in the end. That happened with Tony being the incapable one more times than they both could count and yet Tony still claimed he ended up in someone’s bed more often.

The doors opened, and Steve stood in front of Tony, smiling at him happily, though his eyes were already showing a mix of worry and weariness. Looks like he was readying himself for the worst, then.

“Hi, Rogers,” Tony greeted him and clapped his muscled arm. “Wow, I’ll never get used to your big arms. Or you being all big and muscly. Not after the years with you being small and sick all the time. How long do we actually know each other, actually?” he asked and stepped inside, looking around the hallway; it was more of a habit by now, really.

“Uh, it’s gonna be seven years soon. And hi to you, too,” Steve said and closed the door, standing on Tony’s side. “Howard was making any problems?”

Tony snorted and gave a small shrug as he looked at his friend again. “Do I look like I care? Fuck him. I would come here anyway. Party at your house is such a rarity.”

They both laughed, and Steve gave a short nod, eyes rolling a bit.

“Thor said the same. He came with his brother. Weird guy if you ask me.”

“Brother? The one who was in boarding school in the UK?”

“The same,” the blond admitted and lead Tony towards the living the room, where most of the people was sitting and standing, beer or drinks in their hands. “He came back to finish school here before he goes for college. That’s what Thor said, at least. The guy doesn’t like to talk, it seems.”

“Huh.”

Tony frowned a bit at the new info, his eyes scanning the room in search for a new face, but with no results. He didn’t see Thor either, which meant the brothers might’ve gone somewhere together, maybe looking around the whole place.

“You know the rules, right?” Steve asked and continued without waiting for Tony to at least look at him, let alone reply. “No smoking in the house, and no one is allowed upstairs. I mean no one, even you. The first floor is out of your reach, capeesh?”

“Ah, Rogers, you’re hurting my feelings,” Tony smirked and pulled out his cigarette case.

“Tony, I’m serious. Get the hell out if you wanna smoke,” Steve whined and grabbed him by the arms, pushing to the back of the house and out. “My parents will kill me if they even feel the cigarette smoke.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Tony laughed and took a step forward to free himself from his friend’s grip. “Don’t worry your pretty blond head, sweetheart. I’ll keep myself away from the first floor, and I’ll smoke outside.”

Steve just rolled his eyes at him in frustration, hands falling on his sides helplessly. A moment later the sound of shattering glass reached their ears and the blonde ran inside, face twisted with horror. Tony couldn’t stop a chuckle at the view and turned his back towards the house, taking out a lighter and lighting his cigarette.

The garden was nothing like the one Tony had at the back of his father’s mansion, but he preferred the one he had in front of himself. Even with the hard wooden chairs and edgy rocks on the path towards the pool and around it. It all looked much cozier than the expensive and fluffy lounger and even fucking sand around the big pool from the most exclusive beaches in the world. He didn’t need it all; he felt empty with it no matter how hard he tried to fill the whole in his chest.

Tony even built a freaking robot that would keep him company at the age of eight. What kind of kid does that? A really lonely one, that much he could say. He remembered how hard it was to build Dum-E, not to mention the wounds over his hands and forearms. He still had scars after some of the worst ones.

And what he got in return after he was finished? A worried look from his mother and their butler and a pitiful look from Howard. Every other parent would be impressed with their kid doing such a thing, but not Howard. After all, his kid “was destined for greater things”; what was a small bot for him? Nothing really.

Tony groaned after letting a smoke past his lips. He hated when his brain did that. There was no point in feeling sorry for himself, not now anyway. Not when he was twice as old and knew way too much about how Howard liked to treat him. Or how he didn’t like. He was here to party, for suck’s sake, and he was about to do that and have a fucking great time in the meantime.

It was already getting dark, and Tony was about to get in the house when he noticed the movement on his left. His head turned, and he noticed a tall guy, stepping to the edge of the wooden dais of the bower and sitting down seconds after. Tony would normally ignore that, but… Actually, he had no idea why he was even paying attention to the guy. He should be inside now, working on some girls so he could take one and have a quickie at the house. Or maybe in Steve’s bedroom.

Yet, Tony stayed in place and watched the guy, turning whole body in his direction. He couldn’t even see his face from this point; it was hidden behind the curtain of shoulders-long black hair. All Tony was able to tell, apart from the part that the guys was tall, was that he was also skinny and loved black. He was wearing only that, but maybe the shirt under the jeans vest might’ve been dark green. His skiing jeans were black, boots were black, and most of the sew-on badges on his vest were black with red or white writing on.

Still, he looked damn good.

Tony couldn’t say how long he was looking at the guy, but it had to be a while before he finally heard his voice.

“It’s rude to stare.”

Stark blinked a few times and cleared his throat, looking around. It was darker than the last time he paid attention, and he had to admit, he was being creepy.

“Ah, sorry,” he replied and cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m leaving you now.”

Tony took two steps – which meant he was halfway towards the entrance – when the guy spoke up again.

“I was actually hoping you could offer me a cigarette,” he said without moving even a bit. “That would start a conversation.”

“What makes you think I want to talk to you?”

“There was a reason you were staring at me. Or is it just your hobby?”

Tony opened his mouth to reply that yes, it was his hobby, but he closed them before he could even start. Anyway, the guy was right, there was a reason he was staring; he just didn’t know it yet. So he walked towards the guy and sat down next to him before taking out a cigarette case and offering the inside of it to the guy.

“It’s a nice thing,” he said and took a cigarette. “Is that you on the picture?”

“Yeah. My mom thought it would be funny if she placed my picture on it,” Tony replied with a short chuckle and hid it in his pocket after taking one smoke for himself.

“Your mom gave you that? She has to have a sense of humor, then. Or must’ve given up on you in this one particular thing.”

Tony looked at the guy for a moment, face still hidden behind his hair. He debated if he should tell his mother was gone, but dropping a bomb like that wasn’t fun so he decided he’d keep that to himself. He had no idea if he would see the guy again anyway.

“Yeah, she’s kinda both,” he hummed and offered the other a lighter before using it himself.

“I’m sorry for bringing her up,” the guy hummed and breathed out the smoke in the process. “But you have to admit it yourself, I couldn’t have known she gave you a cigarette case with your picture on it.”

“You—“, Tony turned and stared at him for a moment, just in the time to see him tug the hair behind his ear. His profile was impressive, Tony had to give him that. Thin lips, sharp cheekbones and _that nose_ … “What do you mean?” he asked, pushing away any thoughts about the guy’s looks.

“She’s gone, isn’t she?” he asked softly, looking at Tony for the first time. “I’m sorry for that, too.”

“How—“

“Your voice,” the guy explained and the corners of his lips quirked up barely. “And the look on your face. You’re scared now. Don’t worry, I’m no magician,” he chuckled blankly, his eyes showing how sorry he really was. “I just know how to read people, that‘s all.”

“You’re so weird,” Tony blurted out, regretting his words the second last one left his lips. He expected the guy to curse him and walk away. Instead, he just chuckled again and took another swing from his cigarette.

“I’ve heard that too many times already. I’m used to that.”

Tony just watched him for a moment before he remembered he had a cigarette on his own. He sat straight again, elbows resting on his spread knees soon after. He smokes slowly, staring at the water that was moving slowly under the soft wind.

“What’s your name?” he asked when the silence was too much for him to handle; he never liked sitting silently for more than ten minutes; that’s why he had such a hard time at school.

“Phoenix,” Tony heard the answer and he couldn’t help but snort. He turned his head at the guy and looked at him incredulously only to receive a smirk in return. “Do you really think I would tell my real name to a stranger?”

Tony gasped in mock offence. “I gave you my cigarette!”

“And Gods bless you for that,” Phoenix was the one to snort this time, and he dropped the finished cigarette, stepping on it second later. “Well, it was nice chatting with you.”

Before Tony could say anything Phoenix stood up, dusted off his jeans and walked inside.

“Nice talking to you, too,” Tony muttered, watching the doorway for another moment before he followed him inside.

There was no sign of him in the kitchen whatsoever, so Tony made his way towards the living room. Everyone was there judging by the volume of the talks coming from that direction. He entered the room, greeting some of the people that waved at him too excitedly already and looked around again. Still no Phoenix. Dude had to lie to him; he was a magician if he disappeared so fast.

“Tony! Hey, asshole!” Barton called and waved at him with an offended expression on his face. “Will you drag your big ass ego and sit with us?”

Tony didn’t grace this one with a reply, instead walking towards his group of his friends and taking a spot between Bruce and Pepper. She looked gorgeous, as she always did on these parties. She seemed even out of place in her blue knees-long dress. It was shining in the light of the lamp under the ceiling, and when Tony leaned back for a moment he noticed it had no back. And Pepper’s back were so soft; Tony was sure of that even without touching the skin.

“Someone’s on the hunt tonight,” he joked as he came back to his previous position and grinned at Pepper.

“Shut up,” she blushed and bit down on her bottom lip. Tony could hear Steve taking in a quick breath; poor guy was too obvious with his crush.

That was why he didn’t try to hit on Pepper yet. Normally he would drag her to bed long time ago, but since their first day of high school poor Rogers was head over heels the moment he saw her. Tony couldn't say he was surprised; he really understood that. Pepper was almost one of a kind – she was funny, smart, sweet, quiet and nice most of the time, but when it came to fighting for something or someone she was turning into a lioness. Almost literally. Not to mention her looks; she almost like a dream girl with her long red hair, blue eyes and full lips that were spread into a small smile most of the time. Add to that her perfect silhouette and a female heartbreaker is ready.

“What? Don’t tell me you didn’t notice Steve going red right there,” Tony laughed and whined the next second when Bruce hit him in the arm.

Tony turned to him with a hurtful look on his face and his friend only glared back, head tilting in Steve’s direction. Tony followed and felt guilt creeping up on him when he saw how embarrassed the blond was. He suddenly regretted the teasing, and rubbed at his arm awkwardly, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Right, sorry. Don’t listen to me, I just had a joint,” he lied and reached for a beer from the small pile of bottles they were sitting around. He could feel Natasha staring at him, and he would be worried if it wasn’t for the fact she did that almost all the time and towards everyone. For some reason, she loved watching people while they were being themselves. Thanks to that after a month of hanging out with everyone she knew who was lying and when. Genius.

Except for the times when Tony was the one lying. That was no fun. Nat was used to saying, “You’re lying” even before you finished your lie. And whenever Tony was doing that he found it both annoying and creepy.

On the other hand, they had almost no secrets on their own. The deepest ones were probably hidden somewhere deep, but the small ones were out in the open in their group. God knows how many times Tony had to explain himself from the little lies to keep the bigger secret from him. It always ended up in a group support session. It was surprising that all of his friends knew so much about him already, and yet they were still with him. They knew dirty details and about Howie and they didn’t care about the money. Except for Clint – he always insisted on Tony paying for everyone, or at least him.

“So what do you guys think about Thor’s brother?” Bruce asked, drawing everyone’s attention away from still red-faced Steve.

“Wait, you guys have seen him?” Tony asked surprised, looking at everyone, only now noticing Thor wasn’t with them. “Where’s Mean Swing anyway?”

“Making sure his little brother won’t drug himself to unconsciousness?” Natasha snorted and took a swig of her beer.

Everyone looked at her a little taken aback, Tony being the only one surprised by the revelation.

Thor wasn’t exactly an example of a nice and behaving student, but no one would suspect his brother would turn out to be such a junkie. Tony sure as hell hadn’t seen that one coming. Especially with their parents being so strict about everything; somehow it was still a mystery how Thor managed to be with them at every party.

“How do you know that?” Clint asked quietly, obviously not feeling comfortable with the whole situation. One would think he would get used to that after such a long time with Nat.

“Thor told me,” which meant he really didn’t, but she somehow grabbed that info from the way he was acting while talking about his brother. “Also, I think the guy is adopted and is not Thor’s biological brother.”

“Natasha!” Steve whined and shook his head. “You can’t say stuff like that! What if Thor didn’t want us to know?”

The redhead just shot him a knowing look and got back to drinking her beer.

Tony had to agree with Steve here. He haven’t even seen the guy and managed to know about him more than he would if they were meeting for a few weeks. Natasha was a true genius in reading in people, and most of the time they liked that about her, but situations like this made Tony think she was fucking terrifying. Because seriously, who would get that kind of info from “reading between the lines” of Thor’s words? It was _Thor_ , for fuck’s sake; guy wasn’t that complicated.

But that didn’t mean his brother was the same. Tony didn’t know many people with siblings, but he heard about many cases where brothers or sisters were so different from each other it was almost impossible to say they were related. Maybe that was the case with Thor and his brother? If Natasha was right (and there weren’t many times when she was wrong) there was no other way than to assume just that and keep away from the young Odinson.

A moment later and there was a slam of the door that made everyone jump in their spots. The sound was louder than the music and was followed by a roar of the engine outside. Tony knew that sound all too well; it was Thor’s car.

“What happened?” Pepper asked quietly, and a second later, Thor stepped in, his face twisted in thought and worry.

Steve stood up almost immediately and pulled him to their corner, glaring at everyone who stared at them. When the two blondes were seated on the floor, the whole group stared at them, waiting for the bigger one to say something.

Nothing happened and after a few long minutes Tony decided it was to break the silence.

“What happened, Big Guy?” he asked, small smile spreading his lips.

“Nothing really,” he replied in disbelief, shoulders rising in a shrug. “My brother got upset and… just walked out. I need a ride home.”

Even before he could finish the sentence Steve offered he would get him home. After that Clint handed Thor a bottle of his favorite beer and they started talking about anything they could possibly think of. Everyone just wanted to cheer their friend up. Everyone apart from Natasha. Who, at least, was watching the big blond the whole evening.

No one mentioned Thor’s brother for the rest of the night. It’s not like they didn’t want to know what happened – or maybe that was only Tony – but what was the point of asking, really? Thor obviously wasn’t sure himself what happened, and besides, there was a big possibility they would never meet the guy again, even at school. What was the point of giving a fuck?

* * *

Somehow Tony turned out to be right about Thor’s brother.

For the whole week, he was paying extra attention to everyone around him – in the class, on the hallways, in the cafeteria, during gym, while he was walking in and out of school. But that gave him nothing. That wasn’t weird, really. The school was big; it was obvious Tony wouldn’t catch the sight of him right away, but after a whole week? It’s like the guy didn’t want to be found, specifically not by Tony.

It was annoying, considering the rest of his friends saw the younger Odinson; Tony was the only one who missed him on Steve’s party. And he wasn’t supposed to call him “younger” since he was basically Tony’s age – Thor was graduating this year, along with his girlfriend, Jane, and Steve.

Tony even asked Thor at some point why he wouldn’t bring his brother to sit with them during lunch.

“Loki doesn’t like to be bothered,” Thor replied and took a spoonful of his egg salad, munching it with a pleased grin.

“Bothered?” Tony repeated and looked at him leniently. “Who would bother him here? Not me.”

He could hear everyone snort at that, and he was now the one on the receiving end of Natasha’s lenient look. He glared back at her and looked at Thor again, waiting for the response.

It took a moment before the blonde decided he had chewed his food enough and when he swallowed he took a long drink from his water, slowly driving Tony crazy. Everyone knew he was as impatient as one could only be, and still, Thor was testing him, probably without even knowing he did. But that didn’t really matter to Tony. He _wanted to know_.

“My brother gets bothered by people in general, it’s nothing personal, Tony.”

Tony slumped down in his chair, Steve patting him on the shoulder as a good buddy he was. “Bothered by people,” Tony muttered and shook his head. “How is that even possible?”

“Oh, trust me, it is,” Natasha said and when Tony looked at her, she was already leaning against Clint and taking a bite of his sandwich.

“How can you even— you know what? Never mind. I’ll find him myself. Or,” he said and grinned widely, an idea popping up in his head, “bring him to my party, Thor.”

“Your party?”

“Tony, we just had one, c’mon…”

“I mean it,” Tony said, grinning even wider by now. “Bring him. Tell him I really wanna meet him. Which is true, really. I’ll have all he wants.”

Thor narrowed his eyes at him and shook his head, hands clenching into fists slowly on the table. Tony had no idea what was his problem until he really processed what he said, and then it hit him. Bad wording.

“If you think that will make me take him with me, you are wrong,” Thor boomed and slammed his hand against the table, everything on it shaking a bit. Jane was gripping at his arm, trying to calm him down, all the while sending a disgusted glances at Tony. He really couldn’t blame her for that. “In fact, I won’t come myself.”

“Thor, Thor, wait,” Tony, said quickly, raising his hands in surrender. “Do you really think I meant drugs?”

“Well, didn’t you?” Clint asked with a snort.

“Shut up. I didn’t, okay? And even if, I wouldn’t get anything for the party. And I sure as hell wouldn’t give it to you brother, bud,” Tony said and looked at Thor, doing his best to look like he meant it all; because he really did.

None of them was doing hard drugs and Tony’s short adventure with coke finished as soon as he started high school and made new friends. He never tried anything more than weed after they all got together. It was the pressure of the group or just knowledge that he was alone in his little addiction, but it worked perfectly for him; his mind got suddenly clear and he realized what he was doing to himself. On that day, he threw all of his stash into the toilet without blinking. He probably owed these people his life.

There was a moment of silence and everyone’s eyes were on both of them, Thor and Tony looking each other in the eyes without even a blink. It was hard to keep himself from doing that, but Tony had no other choice. At least, not until Thor looked away.

“It is forgiven,” his friend finally said and got back to eating his salad like nothing really happened.

Tony just blinked a few times at that, and shrugged it off, knowing it was better not to dig into things with Thor. He was one of a kind, after all. Tony sometimes wondered if the big guy was like that on purpose. Mostly playing dumb, but when it came to serious business he was turning into a man who could easily make people kneel before him. It was scary the first few months, but easy to get used to once Tony accepted it.

So the party it was. Tony was damn lucky Howard had another conference and won’t be home for at least a week or even more. That meant the whole mansion was free for the whole weekend; he could keep his friends there – and Thor’s brother, too, hopefully – in their own rooms and they could have fun the whole time. Not necessarily with alcohol and other people, Tony knew when to stop partying, contrary to popular belief.

Now, he just had to survive till Friday with his impatience and eagerness to _finally_ see this Loki guy. Surprisingly, it wasn’t all that bad, especially on the last day.

Tony was on his way to physics class, where Mr. Yinsen was probably already checking on the home assignments, when he was a familiar figure leaving the boys’ restroom. He stopped in his tracks and watched the guy walk slowly in the same direction Tony was, and it took him just a second of thinking about the possibility before he almost ran forward.

“Phoenix?” he asked in disbelief once he stopped, matching his pace with the guy. “What are you doing here?”

The black-haired guy just sent him an amused look. “Learning?”

“I mean, here, at this school,” Tony explained, his breathing still a little heavy from all the running. ”I thought you had already graduated.”

“And why would you think that?” Phoenix asked incredulously, staring at him.

“Well,” Tony muttered, rubbing at the back of his neck a little embarrassed.

It’s not like he didn’t know what to answer; he knew why he assumed that. Phoenix obviously looked older, especially dressed in all black and that old jeans vest covered with sew-on patches. He looked like the guy Tony would definitely approach if just to talk about the bands, because they both seemed to like the same stuff. He just wasn’t sure how the guy next to him would accept the fact he was considered older. While most of the people Tony’s age would love to hear that, he was feeling great as a seventeen year old and he would like to stick with that age, really.

“You just… look older,” Tony muttered finally, the last two words forming into a question.

Phoenix blinked and gave a short chuckle, still smirking when he shook his head at Tony. He stopped a moment later, and Tony did the same thing, realizing that was probably where the guy was walking to the whole time. Suddenly he was angry at that and wanted to blow the school – or just this class – up so he could talk with Phoenix some more. But then he realized he could do that without any damage, collateral as well as in the building.

“So um, I’m having a party tonight and—“

“Yes, I know,” Phoenix said, sounding a bit tired. He looked like that, too, when Tony finally looked up at him, but decided it was the guy’s problem.

“So you’re going to be there?” Stark asked hopefully, swinging on his feet a bit.

“I don’t have other choice now, do I?”

Tony grinned widely. No matter how the guy sounded and felt, he had to want to come at least a bit. Otherwise, he would surely say no and walk away. He didn’t seem like a guy who didn’t know how to say no to someone.

“No, you don’t,” Tony replied, still grinning and waved at him when he saw what time was it. “See you later, then.”

Phoenix just waved back at him and went inside the classroom, and Tony could swear he saw him smile a bit before he turned around. That heightened his mood significantly, not to mention he had now two things to look forward to today. This part was turning into a great idea, and he felt it was going to be a great night for him.

It just had to be.

* * *

How was it that Tony now found himself in a room with Phoenix?

It was still a blurry memory of just a few minutes ago.

He had been in a dance-off with Clint, his friend drunk enough already to actually propose that. It would be strange if it not for the fact Natasha was watching them with a small smirk. That was enough for Tony to deduce she made Clint drink on purpose only to see him dance like an old fella. Clint, while drunk, had the weirdest dance moves Tony had ever seen, and he wasn’t disappointed this time, as well.

Everyone in the room was practically rolling on the floor from laughter. Tony had no idea where Barton knew the moves from, but he was actually doing a… Time Warp. Soon enough someone found _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ soundtrack Tony stored in his album collection and once the right melody filled the room it set his friend even more. He refused to stop, no matter how many times he ended up on the floor while trying to keep his legs together.

Tony dropped out after the second round, his belly in pain from the amount of laugh he had while watching and trying to show Clint how to do the steps properly. With a big ass grin on his face, he turned around and almost immediately bumped into someone.

That someone turned out to be Phoenix. It wouldn’t have been all that bad, but he was holding a big plastic cup, and the beer that was inside ended up on both their shirts.

“Shit! I’m so sorry!” Tony said quickly, hands stretched out in Phoenix’s direction as though he wanted to dry his shirt with them.

Phoenix just sent him an annoyed look and stared down at himself. A moment later he let out a heavy sigh and shook his head before his eyes fell on Tony again.

“You’re lucky it wasn’t my favorite shirt.”

Tony smiled sheepishly in return and let his hands fall down freely at his sides. “You came.”

“Well, of course. You said I had no other choice,” Phoenix replied and there it was, the small quirk of the corners of his mouth. Somehow it made Tony’s heart beat a bit faster.

He watched the taller guy for a long moment; unaware he was being creepy again. No one seemed to notice anyway – everyone was still busy laughing at Clint and his dance moves. Phoenix seemed not to notice, too. He stared back, no trace of disapproval or anything else for that matter. There was just pure excitement.

“Right,” Tony muttered and cleared his throat in the next second, looking down at their shirts again. It didn’t miss his attention how Phoenix’s shirt was now sticking to his chest showing off some of the parts and leaving little space for imagination. He had to clear his throat again. “Um, let’s go upstairs. I’ll give you something you can change into.”

“I can’t tell it’s an original way to get me strip for you,” Tony heard from behind as he made his way towards the stairs, and an amused snort left his nose.

“You know,” he turned to look at the guy, and kept walking backwards for a moment. “If I wanted that, I would find some other way. Definitely one you haven’t heard and seen yet,” he smirked, eyeing Phoenix up and down again before he turned back in time to step on the stairs.

“You’re that confident, huh?” Phoenix asked, and it was obvious they were now playing this game. It was hard to ignore how his voice sounded like he was smirking flirtatiously. Tony really wanted to turn one more time just to see that expression.

They passed a few people on their way up, a couple almost fucking on the steps and a lonely guy who was watching them from behind the wall of the hall with his hand in his pants. He seemed to be blind on everything else and didn’t even glance when Tony and Phoenix passed him by.

Tony waited with his reply until they reached his room, and the doors were securely closed. Something settled down in his stomach once the lock clicked, and he couldn’t help but smile at that; it was like a promise of a very good night.

“I’m mostly confident. You should know that for the future,” he said then and turned around, taking in a deep breath split second later.

Phoenix was standing with his back to Tony, the wet shirt already laying on the edge of the bed. It wouldn’t be all that surprising, Tony saw many people half naked in his bedroom. What took his breath away was the tattoo. A tattoo that covered Phoenix’s whole back. It was bright, as colorful as a fire. The bird seemed to be curling up on himself to scare his prey, like he wanted to let them know they didn’t stand a chance. It was bright orange, every end of every feather slowly turning into a deep red colour. Its claws looked sharp, curled up as well, beak open wide as thought he was screaming before the attack. There was only one, white eye visible, but all it took was one look, and it was clear the bird was about ready to kill.

Tony slowly walked forward, staring enchanted at the tattoo. He didn’t even realize that he was tracing the dark lines of the outlines with his fingertips, lips parted as he was taking in every inch of ink on the pale skin. He could feel the muscles tensing under his feather-like touch, but he was too focused on his movements to care. Only when Phoenix finally turned around and grabbed his wrist gently, he looked up, blinking in disorientation.

“It’s amazing,” he muttered, staring into the deep green eyes.

Phoenix just stared back, long fingers still wrapped around Tony’s wrist as he leaned forward and nipped at his bottom lip.

“I knew I would find someone to appreciate the good work,” he murmured against Tony’s lips and pulled back again. It was hard not to whine at the fact he didn’t move any further.

Next thing Tony felt was the kiss to his neck, and then another, and another. He shivered all over, head falling back to give Phoenix more space as he continued covering every inch of his skin with soft pecks. He let go of Tony’s wrist moments later, and both hands rested on his hips, pulling him closer and closer, until there was almost no air between them.

“What are you doing?” Tony muttered blissfully, his arms moving to wrap around the other’s shoulders so he could hold himself up. Only he knew what kisses to his neck did to him; well, him and Phoenix now, too.

“What we were both thinking about while walking here, obviously,” he heard the reply followed by the gentle nip to the crook of his neck.

Another shiver ran down Tony’s spine, and he gasped in both pleasure and excitement. Phoenix seemed to know exactly what to do, because he smirked and kissed his way to Tony’s lips, licking over the outline of them, at the same time pushing him backwards.

Tony was too busy concentrating on the feeling of Phoenix’s tongue on his skin to give a damn about anything else. All he was able to think about was to feel it in his mouth as well as the rest of his body. The things that were coming to his mind were the filthiest ones he had so far in his life, but it was all worth it when he had Phoenix here. It felt like anything could happen now.

“Your shirt’s still wet,” Phoenix hummed quietly, his hands sliding under the wet material, causing goose bumps to rise on Tony’s skin. “You should take it off.”

“Definitely,” Tony groaned out, swallowing hard and opening his eyes slowly.

His vision was full of the black material when the shirt was pulled off over his head. Then he saw Phoenix tossing it away, and his hands automatically moved to wrap around his neck before he kissed him, hard and hungry. He was really impatient; he needed more contact now, and he was so glad when the other didn’t pull away and kissed him back.

Cold hands moved over his back, nails dragging down and making him shudder. He was sure he’ll have marks after that, but it set him even more on instead of pulling away. Tony pressed himself close to the taller man, moaning straight into his mouth when his hardening cock rubbed over the other’s hips.

That’s when Phoenix pressed him against the wall again, this time making sure he stayed there. His hand moved to the front of Tony’s pants, taking care of the zip and the buttons. It wasn’t even a second when long fingers slid under his boxer briefs, and he was gasping for air when his member was squeezed gently.

“Fuck…”

He could feel Phoenix smirking against his lips. “Not today,” he whispered and the heat of his mouth was gone.

Tony opened his eyes, blinking when he saw nothing in front of himself. He looked down a moment later, just in time to see his pants and underwear being pushed down to his ankles and making it impossible for him to move away. Not that he wanted that. This was way better than he would have suspected when he invited Phoenix earlier today at school. This was so much better. So—

The feeling of the other’s warm mouth around his head cut off every coherent thought. All he was able to process was that the sexiest guy on the party was now sucking him off in his bedroom. Who was he to not appreciate that?

Apparently he was someone if Phoenix picked him exactly. And the way his tongue was now moving over his tip was just mind-blowing. Tony wasn’t sure if he would stand long enough to come, his legs already shaking from the amount of pleasure he was getting from one simple lick.

He had many blowjobs before, but this one was so far the best, and it was just the beginning.

His eyes rolled to the back of his skull when he felt a hard suck on his head, fingertips brushing over his sac at the same time. Phoenix definitely knew what he was doing and that he was doing it good. Even if his mouth halfway down Tony’s cock it was clear he was grinning with satisfaction. It was amazing how he managed to do that because, let’s be honest here; Tony’s dick was pretty impressive while standing at full mast.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered breathlessly, one hand moving to comb into the black hair a bit shyly. A groan of approval that sounded around him just encouraged him to grip gently at the strands and within seconds he felt Phoenix’s warm mouth and _throat_ around himself. “Fucking fuck—!”

Tony’s head hit the wall when it felt backwards, whole body arching into the warmth and pleasure, but there was no pain that would push away such a feeling. It felt glorious, how deep he was and how easy Phoenix managed to do that. He was pulling away quickly, but his mouth was replaced with his hand, and he started stroking Tony while his mouth and tongue worked on the head.

Tony couldn’t stop any sound that was leaving his lips, moans and groans and gasps escaping almost constantly. He was completely losing himself, and he enjoyed every second of it. Phoenix did, too, if the groans reverberating over Tony’s head and length were any indication. He could feel the small vibrations, and it just added to his already building release.

When he lost the heat from around his cock, he was about to whine in protest, a cool shiver making its way down his spine. He changed his mind seconds later, the moment he felt the smart tongue licking over his balls. Phoenix sucked one into his mouth and teased it with the tip of his tongue inside, Tony’s legs shaking harder than before.

“God, I’m gonna come so hard,” he moaned loudly, Phoenix’s lips stretching around his head soon enough. He could feel he was going for all of him again and the moment he felt the tight throat around his head he knew he wouldn’t survive long. Second later and the tall guy was swallowing hard around him, once and twice before he pulled back in time for Tony’s cum to hit the back of his throat.

Tony was crying out in pleasure, Phoenix’s name leaving his lips along with obscenities and endearments. It took him longer than usual before he calmed down enough to register he was on the floor, gasping for air and with a wide smile on his face. Phoenix didn’t move away even for an inch, and when Tony opened his eyes, he stared right back into the green ones.

Tony stared back at him like he was hypnotized, which was probably true considering the way Phoenix was looking at him. He was sure both of them didn’t even blink until the taller guy smirked and planted a soft peck on Tony’s lips.

“I’m guessing I did my job well,” he murmured, still staying close to Tony.

The brunet’s eyes widened as he gave a short in response. “Yeah, it was—“, he swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. “It was we—“

He stopped when Phoenix reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead. He could feel fingers brushing over his skin there, and he watched the guy the whole time. He seemed to be focused on what he was doing, slowly moving the strand to the back and making sure it would stay in place after.

“You owe me now,” he said then and looked at Tony, winking at him. It was supposed to be an innocent, playful wink, but Tony saw that as something threatening. And he was damned if he couldn’t admit how much it turned him on.

“I can’t see what kind of favor you’d want in return,” he replied after a short moment and watched in awe as Phoenix started laughing. His head fell back, and his whole chest started trembling with laughter. His long neck was exposed enough for Tony to want to lean in and bite and suck on it, leave every mark possible so everyone would see Phoenix spend even these few moments with him.

Finally, Phoenix calmed down and, still wearing a wide smile on his lips, he helped Tony up and into his clothes. Normally Tony would be annoyed that someone was babysitting him like that, but with the latest orgasm still clouding his mind, he really couldn’t care less.

“See you around, Stark,” Phoenix said then and gave him a quick, needy kiss, one Tony didn’t even have a chance to reciprocate before he was gone.

Tony blinked a few times and walked forward, plumping down onto his bed with a loud sigh. He had no idea what was going with him, and maybe he didn’t like it deep inside, but the future promise of more encounters with the mysterious guy was enough to push any doubts and concerns away from the main agenda. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t regret it.

He had no idea how right – in the end – he may be.

* * *

Tony and Phoenix ended up meeting whenever they could. Obviously, they did that more often at school than anywhere else, but the more time passed, the more they were willing to see each other in other places. A month in and Tony invited him over to his place, Howard being away on a business trip as usual and the whole mansion being left to him. He was in no mood for a party, but he also didn’t want to be alone, and the first person that came to his mind was Phoenix.

He felt bad about it at first. He knew the guy for a month, not for years like it was with his friends. Yet, he couldn’t push the thought away from his mind, no matter how hard he tried. So the next day at school, he invited Phoenix over. The guy was reluctant at the beginning, but after Tony sucked him off in the girls’ locker room during PE, he said yes.

Tony was more than excited for the rest of that day. He knew that they would probably end up fucking each other’s brains out sooner or later, but just the thought of having Phoenix all for himself was making him all jumpy and… _happy_.

As far as he remembered he never felt like this about anyone and anything. Well, maybe he did when it came to Maria, but since her death, nothing had been the same.

He was right, more or less, about that weekend. They did spend most of it in his bedroom, but they didn’t just fuck. They talked, surprisingly a lot, and even though they didn’t have that much in common, they still spend hours on listening to what one had to say.

They talked for hours about music, discovering that there were lots of bands they both liked. Turned out Phoenix played guitar, bass and drums. He claimed that if one knew how to play guitar, playing bass was a piece of cake. He laughed a lot when they talked, and Tony couldn’t take his eyes away from him. No matter how many times Phoenix pointed out that he was staring. He just couldn’t look away.

By the time Phoenix left his house, Tony could remember every part of his body, every smallest wrinkle, every mole and every freckle. He didn’t have much of them, though. His skin was almost free of every beauty mark, not counting the tattoos.

Phoenix had a lot of tattoos. The bird on his back was the biggest one, obviously, but there were lots of small ones, scattered randomly all over his body. There was a Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” lyrics on the inner side of his left arm, a butterfly with pulled out wings on his right side. A Misfits logo was on his right forearm and a Corpse Bride from Burton’s movie on his right thigh. There was a ton more of these and Tony knew each and every single one, along with the exact places.

Tony also learned the spots on Phoenix’s body that, if stimulated in the right way at the exact moment, made him almost cry out with pleasure. He knew how to stretch him so there would be no pain once Tony was pushing in, and he knew how much pressure there needed to be.

He was sure Phoenix learned the same things on his own body, the way the pale hands travelled over his body over and over. Each time made Tony shiver all over, and each time was better and more straightforward than the last one. It was something Tony never experienced before, and now he wouldn’t have it any other way. And with anyone else.

They were meeting for two and a half months when Tony was finally strong enough to admit he was in love with Phoenix. He knew the feeling was mutual. Only days before the taller man told him that in a heated moment they shared in Steve’s room at one of the parties. The way those three words left his lips, Tony couldn’t believe how good it actually felt. But he couldn’t say it back, not back then. Phoenix didn’t comment on that, and didn’t mention it either. But the words were said, and there was this weight on Tony’s shoulders once it sunk in, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

When he finally admitted that to himself, he cried for hours. He cried because of both, happiness and fear. He was so happy he finally found someone for himself, and that this someone actually loved him back. He just couldn’t get rid of the knowledge that if Howard found out, he would do everything to break them both apart, to destroy everything that was in between them and the fear of that almost made Tony’s heart shatter into pieces.

He had a weekend all for his own, since everyone else were with their families making Christmas shopping. Tony was left alone, as usual, and the moment couldn’t have been worse, but he didn’t dare to call anyone. Instead, he spent whole two days in his room, ordering presents for his friends, Phoenix and Jarvis.

Monday came quicker than he thought and once he stepped into the school, he was pulled under Thor’s arm.

“My friend!” the big blond called and patted Tony’s shoulder as they walked down the corridor. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

Tony rolled his eyes and pulled away from him, flashing a wide smile as he turned to look at him. “Of course, you’re gonna love your gift, man.”

Thor lightened up like a little kid that got to receive a present from Santa himself. Maybe in some way it was like that for him. No matter how often they said Tony didn’t care about anyone apart himself, he knew everything about his friends. He knew if they still liked something and if not, than what was new. His gifts were always the stuff they talked about wanting “real bad”, but not being able to afford them.

Clint, though, was a different case than everyone else. Always a month before Christmas he had one thing picked and he mentioned it every day, exceptionally loudly when Tony was around. And every year Tony was preparing two gifts for him: a joke, and the real one. Clint always thought the first one was the right one, no matter how many times before the prank was played and always made everyone happy.

This year was different for Tony because of Phoenix. He promised him they would meet after Tony was done with his friends. They were set on the right hour in Tony’s house. He really didn’t want to blow it; it was too important for him.

“I hope so, my friend,” he heard Thor’s reply and it shook him out of his reverie. “Clint is more excited, though. He can’t stop talking about tomorrow’s after school meeting.”

Tony just laughed and gave a nod, already knowing what would greet him once he reached his friends’ table in the cafeteria. Although he really wanted to spend this time with Phoenix, too, the other refused without giving a reason for it. Tony dropped it and never asked for it again, seeing how giddy Phoenix was after this one time.

“If you see him before lunch, tell him he’ll get nothing if he keeps talking.”

Thor’s booming laugh filled the corridor, and he patted Tony’s shoulder before he extracted his arm. “I will, Tony, don’t you worry,” he grinned and walked away towards his class.

Tony didn’t even give him a second glance. As soon as the parted ways he almost ran towards the boy’s restroom, knowing it would be empty at this time of the day. Empty, not counting one person waiting for him in the stall at the very end of the room.

He quietly stepped inside and checked just in case anyone else was there before locking the door and walking towards the last wooden door. He pulled the open and smiled widely when he saw Phoenix standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, but when he saw Tony he reached out and pulled him into a hungry and needy kiss.

Tony was more than eager to comply, and his hands flew up to comb into the black hair, a pair of pale and cold ones already sliding under his shirt on his back. He shivered under the touch and leaned into the taller man’s body, sighing happily into his mouth.

“I missed you,” Phoenix murmured when they parted, pressing Tony as close as it was possible. “I heard nothing from you, not even a text…”

“I’m sorry,” Tony said quickly and cupped his cheek gently, smiling when the other leaned into the touch almost immediately. “I was… thinking. About us.”

Phoenix froze at the words and moved his head back a bit to have a better look at Tony. There was a genuine fear when Tony stared into his eyes, and he felt guilty for causing it. That’s why he tiptoed and pulled him in for a sweet kiss, sucking at his bottom lip just like he knew he liked.

“No, it’s not like that,” he murmured then and gave him a reassuring smile, thumb brushing over his cheekbone. “I’ll tell you. But that’s tomorrow when we meet after school.”

“You want me to wait so long?” Phoenix protested and shook his head, pressing Tony against the cold wall, hands now resting on his hips and holding tightly. “I am not having any of that. What did you think about?” he demanded, green eyes looking down at Tony with a mix of desperation, need and fear, still.

Tony sighed quietly and swallowed hard, doing his best not to look down. “I don’t want to say it in the public restroom. Please,” he mumbled quietly, hands tightening on the sides of Phoenix’s shirt. “Just— Just wait until tomorrow, okay? I promise; it will be worth it.”

Tony felt really bad for keeping the information away from Phoenix for now, but he just knew this wasn’t time and place for it. Not now and not in the dirty stall. He leaned up and kissed the other again, arms wrapping loosely around his middle and fingertips digging gently into his back. He could stay like that forever, just having Phoenix close, feeling his scent and his touch and hearing his voice… He could spend the rest of his life like that.

He almost said the words then, but the bell rang, and they parted once more, both of them breathing a bit heavier than before. He instantly leaned into the touch to his cheek, Phoenix smiling softly at that and giving Tony’s nose a short peck.

“We could stay here and make sure everyone is gone,” he proposed quietly, thumb stroking Tony’s cheekbone. “And we could get out of here and hide somewhere for the rest of the day.”

This was so tempting. Especially after the lonely weekend. But then, Thor already had seen Tony, it was the second to last day before their Christmas break, and then he and Phoenix could spend together all the time they wanted to.

Still, it was hard to say now, the tall beauty right in front of him.

“Maybe some other time, baby,” Tony replied and couldn’t stop a short chuckle when Phoenix pouted. “We’ll have all the time we need during the break. Howie’s out of town for the duration of it,” he said, and his smile immediately faded, replaced by a frown. “Sometimes I think he does that on purpose, so he doesn’t have to see me too often.”

“Even if, it’s his loss. And his fucking stupid if he can’t see how amazing son he has,” Phoenix hummed and hugged Tony protectively, kissing the top of his head.

It wasn’t sexual in any way, no matter the things they both had in minds just seconds later. That’s why Tony loved him so much – it wasn’t all about the sex, they actually understood each other and two months was enough time for them to get know one another enough. No matter what some people were saying about short-time relationships; Tony was sure he was one of the not many people that knew Phoenix the most, and that worked in both sides.

“Okay,” he muttered and gently wiggled out from the embrace sending the taller boy a thankful smile. ”We need to go.”

Phoenix just nodded and led him out of the stall and then onto the corridor, where he gave Tony’s hand one last squeeze before he ran for his English classes. Tony himself started walking unhurriedly towards his math class, thinking about tomorrow.

He knew exactly what he wanted to do with Phoenix. First they would eat whatever Jarvis would make them, then they would get presents and then… Tony would tell him he loved him.

He was acting like a lovelorn fool; he was very aware of that, but that didn’t change the fact he wanted every second to be perfect. He wanted them to be alone; he wanted to see Phoenix’s face once he says the words. And he wanted to hear them back, too. He already missed the sound of them, even though he heard them just once. It made him crave for more, and he knew if he got to hear them maybe every day even, the effect would be always the same.

The whole time before the lunch break Tony had spent thinking, ignoring what was said on the classes, and not caring if he was asked a question; he was here for his friends, and now Phoenix only, and all the teachers knew that. There was no point in getting worried about bad grades.

Once he stepped into the cafeteria, every thought was pushed away as the sounds of loud conversations, laugh and dragging chairs over the floor reached his ears. He went straight for the table, where Thor, Clint and Natasha were already seated and busied with their lunch and talk. All three of them smiled when they saw Tony and nodded at him as a greeting.

“What are you talking about?” Tony asked, only to get pulled into the conversation himself.

“Nothing,” came Clint’s quick reply and Tony frowned at him as he reached into his back to pull out sandwiches Jarvis made for him today.

Thor started laughing with his mouth closed, since he had bitten his apple just seconds before, and Natasha rolled her eyes at her clearly-not-officially-yet boyfriend. “We were talking about tomorrow.”

“Nat!” Clint called in frustration, a whine of pain leaving his lips when Natasha undoubtedly kicked him in the shin under the table.

“The usual place, right?” Tony asked as though nothing happened and took a bite of his food, humming in approval at the taste. Jarvis always knew what the best food for school was.

“You guys are talking about tomorrow?” Pepper asked from behind him and sat on the nearest seat.

“Yeah.”

“Everything’s as usual, right?” Steve asked as he sat next to Thor, already biting on the hamburger he bought for himself. “Or are we changing the tradition this year?”

Tony bit down on his bottom lip and nodded, smiling sheepishly when all of his friends, including Bruce, who just sat down on his side, looked at him a bit surprised.

“I won’t stay to the very end,” he explained with a small shrug. “I have some stuff I need to take care of.”

He could feel Natasha watching him closely, and he knew she already more or less deduced what was really going on. He just hoped he wouldn’t say anything to Clint because then everyone would know. Tony loved his friends but sometimes, especially if something like that resurfaced, he would be screwed – they wouldn’t give up on asking questions, and Phoenix didn’t want people to know they were together. And, to be honest, Tony enjoyed a relationship like that so far; no intruders, no sex questions and no disgusted looks. He was sure hiding would stop being so appealing soon, but for now he wasn’t going to do anything to change it.

“That’s a shame, but it’s good you’ll be there for at least a moment,” Bruce said and patted his shoulder lightly. “Clint couldn’t stop talking about what he’s gonna get.”

Clint whined pathetically and slid down in his chair so far only his red forehead was visible above the counter. Everyone laughed at him, and they could hear him mumble something, probably swears at all of them, but they were too used to it to get offended.

Soon everyone started talking about how they will be spending their Christmases, what lead to whining about how many family members will come, or they will visit and how much they hated this or that cousin. Tony listened to everything, and the knowledge he will probably never have that destroyed his good mood completely. He realized that apart from tomorrow, there was nothing good waiting for him until 26th when Phoenix would finally be able to come to him and stay for the next week. He was excited for that, but the knowledge that everyone else will be surrounded by people when he’ll be sitting alone in his room, eating Jarvis’ perfect turkey and probably watching some porn wasn’t making him feel any better.

He actually felt useless.

“Tony?”

He blinked a few times and smiled slightly at the sound of his name, looking around to see who called him. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?” he heard Pepper and glanced at her, nodding quickly.

“Sure, yeah. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look like it,” Clint commented and frowned, the rest of the group following soon after.

Tony shook his head and was about to reply when Pepper spoke up again.

“Howard’s going away for Christmas again, isn’t he?” she asked softly, reaching out to grab his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “He’s leaving you alone again.”

He shook his head again.

“No, not alone. I’ll have Jarvis,” he chuckled blankly and wriggled his hand out of Pepper’s grip. “It’s okay, don’t worry. I’m used to that.”

“But it’s not okay,” Steve protested and when Tony looked at him he noticed how much his friend was hurt by the information. “Don’t you have some family to go to?”

“You know Howard’s in conflict with everybody,” Tony sighed and looked down at his unfinished sandwich. “And I’m his son, they won’t want me.”

There was an awful kind of silence after that, and Tony really wished he could hide his emotions better. Maybe Phoenix could teach him that, it would be awesome.

“You can join me and my family, my friend,” Thor boomed his big blue eyes locked on Tony.

Everyone looked at him in both, disbelief and gratitude, but Tony couldn’t help but feel anxious about the whole thing.

He sure as hell didn’t want to be left alone on Christmas again, but spending them with Thor’s family? Tony wasn’t picky, but the Odinsons were pretty closed and rarely let anyone inside and he didn’t think they would accept him for these few hours.

“Tony, say yes,” he heard Bruce’s whisper, and he turned to look at his friend with a question.

Bruce just nodded and smiled encouragingly which only helped Tony make the decision. If Bruce was letting him know it was a good idea, he wasn’t going to argue with that.

“Okay then,” he said after a moment and looked back at Thor. “If you’re sure it’s okay, then… I’ll come,” he added and gave a small smile.

Thor was about to reply, his smile already wider and brighter than the light bulbs in the cafeteria, but the bell rang and everyone started gathering their stuff and standing up. Chairs were dragged over the floor again, the last bits of conversations still going as a flood of people started to leave the room, Tony and his friends at the very end of it.

He couldn’t help but feel excited now. He wasn’t going to be alone for Christmas and suddenly Thor’s family didn’t seem all that bad. And he would finally meet Loki. Since Phoenix and that memorable party at Tony’s house, he all but forgot about the guy, ignoring every mention of him at the table.

He could wait to tell Phoenix, too, though he wasn’t sure about his reaction. Still, he was sure his boyfriend would be happy about him not being alone on that kind of day, right?

Tony smiled to himself and walked towards his physics class, sure this Christmas would be different for him, and not just because of him not being alone for once.

* * *

_“Phoenix, c’mon. It stopped being funny twelve hours ago.”_

_“Phoenix, I’m serious, what’s going on? Are you okay?”_

_“I mean it. I’m worried!!”_

_“Please, just let me know you’re okay.”_

_“Please.”_

Tony dropped the phone on the floor and hid his face in his palms, breathing heavy and uneven.

He hadn’t seen his boyfriend since Monday morning. He caught glimpses of him on the corridors later that day, but he was too busy to actually catch him and talk.

Phoenix didn’t show up on Tuesday at their meeting. Tony waited for four hours by the doors, all jumpy and excited, because he couldn’t wait to tell him the news and _those three words_. He finally walked away to the kitchen where Jarvis gave him a plate full of something that looked like fried salmon. Tony barely ate, his phone lying in front of him as he waited for at least a text explaining why Phoenix didn’t show up.

Nothing like that happened. There was no text, not to mention a call.

Tony spent the whole night watching the screen of his phone in hopes that maybe there was something with the network or Phoenix didn’t have time. That still didn’t stop him from leaving at least a dozen messages on his boyfriend’s voicemail and sending hundreds of text. He gave up when the sun started rising, and bright beams filled his room.

Also, today was the day he was going to Thor’s house to eat Christmas dinner with them and spend a night there. He insisted that he didn’t have to stay, when late in the evening his friend called him, but all he received in return was: “It would be an honor to have you under our roof for more than just one evening, my friend.” He was pretty sure Thor was either drunk or stoned, but the vision was too tempting to decline. As unbelievable as this might sound, Tony had never been to a sleepover. Sleeping in your friend’s bed after you partied too much doesn’t count.

But there was nothing that could keep his mind away from Phoenix and the fact he still had no idea what happened with him. He was starting to have really bad feelings about this, the worst being that maybe Phoenix didn’t want him anymore. Just the thought of it made his heart clench and eyes start to sting lightly. He was sure there was no way he would survive being dumped now, not after he finally found the courage to admit that he loved him.

He didn’t even notice when the door to his room opened, and Jarvis took a step in, watching him with worry.

“Tony, your friend just came. He’s waiting downstairs.”

“Phoenix?” he asked almost immediately, standing up from his bed and turning to look at his butler.

“Thor,” Jarvis corrected and gave him an apologetic smile. “I let myself pack you a bag. The gifts for the Odinson family are inside it. Shall I tell your friend to come a bit later?”

Tony swallowed hard and shook his head, looking down at his phone for a long moment.

He should take it and walk downstairs with a bright smile, pretending that everything was okay. He should let his excitement take over and just have fun for once during Christmas. He really should.

And that’s what Tony was about to do. Apart from one little thing – he wasn’t taking his phone with him.

He walked around the bed and pulled on a pair of heavy boots and a leather jacket, taking in a deep breath before he stood in front of Jarvis.

“I’m okay,” he managed a small smile when he kept seeing the worried expression on the other man’s face. “If anything happens, call Thor’s mom, I’m leaving— I’m leaving my phone here.”

Jarvis just nodded obediently and gave Tony a gentle hug, promising that everything would be okay, before he let him go. It was hard for Tony to believe that, even when he was about to have his first real Christmas since his mom died. Somehow, everything lost meaning without Phoenix by his side.

He took in another deep breath before he walked downstairs, a wide and sappy smile spreading his lips when he saw Thor standing in the hallway and looking around curiously. He probably didn’t recognize some of the stuff that wasn’t there last time he visited. It wasn’t strange, really; Howard had a tendency to redecorate the parts of the house that were seen by the guests pretty often.

“Hey, man,” Tony greeted him and patted his arm before walking for his bag. “We can go,” he said as he straightened up and waited for Thor to lead the way.

The blonde just smiled back at him, a true happy smile on his part, and walked out towards his mom’s hybrid car. Tony threw his stuff on the back seat and turned around to wave at Jarvis, who stood in the doorway before he got into the car, and they drove off.

“My brother was supposed to come with me, but he refused,” Thor started, frowning a bit at the windshield. “For some reason he has refused to leave his room since I told him that you were going to spend Christmas with us.”

“Maybe he doesn’t like new people,” Tony said and leaned comfortably into his seat, watching the streets passing by outside.

“It’s not that,” he heard the reply. Thor was obviously worried and confused with his brother’s behavior. There was little Tony could do to help him, sadly, since he didn’t even know the guy they were talking about. “He seemed almost terrified by the notion. Especially when he heard your name,” Thor explained and glanced at Tony for a short moment. “You didn’t meet yet, am I right?”

“Yep. I don’t know what’s wrong with the guy, sorry. Maybe he heard some of those stupid stories that run around the school.”

“Yes, maybe,” Thor hummed and stared at the road, frown remaining.

Tony didn’t pay much attention to that. He couldn’t care less at the moment about a guy that was scared to be with him in one room for a couple of hours. Suddenly he started regretting he didn’t take his phone. What if Phoenix replied? Or called? Jarvis surely won’t enter Tony’s room until he’s back, there was no way Phoenix would know what happened with Tony.

He winced at the thought and turned his face away from Thor and towards the window, doing his best to hide in how much pain he actually was. It was all so wrong; he wanted to tell Thor to go back so he could stay in his room until his boyfriend’s replies to him. But it was way too late for that now, not when he saw they were just turning on Thor’s street and when his family was ready to take Tony in. It would be plain rude and stupid to get back now. He just had to hide everything for twenty-four hours, it shouldn’t be that bad.

Thor’s mom was already waiting on the driveway when they stopped, and first thing she did was to hug Tony breathless. He barely survived it, but still smiled when she finally let go of him and straightened up his jacket.

“It’s so nice to see you, Tony,” she said and urged Thor to pick up his bag. “We’re so happy to have you here today.”

Tony laughed shortly and nodded, sending Thor an apologetic look, but he only received a flashing smile in return. “I’m happy to be here, too, ma’am,” he said then and looked back at Frigga, his heart swelling when he noticed how happy she really looked. It reminded him about Maria, and damn didn’t it feel good to be wanted. “Though, Thor told me his brother isn’t as happy.”

“Never mind Loki,” she said and gently took Tony’s arm, leading him inside slowly. “I already talked to him and he promised he’ll behave. He’ll have to, since we don’t have enough rooms, and you’ll be staying in his,” he said and smiled at him softly. “Jane’s coming after dinner and stays the night, as well.”

Well, that was something Tony didn’t expect. The guy didn’t like him, and he was supposed to stay in his room and sleep? Like hell, he wasn’t.

“I could sleep on the couch, it’s okay,” he said quickly. “I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”

“Don’t be silly,” Frigga said and shook her head, letting go of his arm and gently pushing him up the stairs. “Loki’s room is big; you’re going to be fine and safe there,” she chuckled softly. “Now, go upstairs. I call you for dinner.”

And with that she was gone.

Tony sure as hell wasn’t going to see where he was going to sleep. Especially when he was pretty sure Loki was sitting there, mad at everyone for having to share his room. He still ran upstairs and walked into Thor’s room, catching him in the middle of changing his shirt.

“Hey, Hot Stuff,” he teased and plumped down on his bed, looking around just to have something to do. “I was told to wait until your mom calls us for dinner. Wanna play?”

Thor glared at him for a moment but at the mention of playing together, he smiled almost immediately, an eager nod following soon after.

“Yes, just let me—“, he said and pulled on a new shirt, reaching out for Tony’s jacket after he was done. Tony took it off and handed to him, already on his knees and turning on the newest Play Station.

It didn’t take long for both of them to curse at each other and laugh moments later. It worked to keep Tony’s mind away from Phoenix, though whenever one of them took a pee break, his thoughts were bringing the worries back at the front. One time Thor almost saw him wincing, but Tony’s reflexes were still good enough to turn away in time.

It was getting harder to hide it with each time, but Tony knew he had no choice. He didn’t want Frigga and everyone else to worry about him; he didn’t want to destroy the evening. If he could just hold it inside for a few more hours, no one would know what was going on, and he would get back to finding a way of contacting with Phoenix.

That was the best solution for him.

They didn’t even notice when the sky turned dark. Only when Frigga called them so they get changed they looked outside and then blinked in confusion at each other.

“Can you bring my clothes?” Tony asked and dropped the pad onto the floor before he stood up and stretched. “I don’t want to bother your bro.”

Thor sent him a questioning look at that, but said nothing and just walked out of the room, only to get back with Tony’s bag a few moments later.

They changed in silence, Tony pulling on a white shirt and black, already knotted tie and a pair of black suit pants. He made a note to thank Jarvis for that, because if he had packed his stuff on his own, he would surely forget about that.

Half an hour later they were more than ready and waiting at the top of the stairs for Frigga to call them in.

“Isn’t your brother coming?” Tony asked after a long while, realizing they were waiting alone.

“He’s already downstairs,” Thor replied with a shrug and looked ahead of him at the window just above the staircase. “Look, it’s snowing.”

Tony followed his gaze and smiled the moment he saw small snowflakes falling down and flickering into the light from the lamp on the ceiling. It really couldn’t be more perfect for him. Real Christmas with snow falling outside… All he wanted now was to get Phoenix here. Then he would have everything he ever wanted.

Frigga’s voice saved him from more unpleasant thoughts, and he smiled slightly as he and Thor walked downstairs. He took the turn to the right, where the table was set in the dining room, and he looked around, nodding at Odin in a way of welcome. He froze a moment later when he saw someone he didn’t expect to see here, and whom he had craved to see for the whole day.

He took a step back as Phoenix sent him an apologetic look, head shaking violently by the time the other made a step towards him. Almost immediately Tony turned around on his heels and ran out of the house, into the cold and snow, his head aching from the amount of thoughts.

He tripped at the last step of the stairs down from the porch and landed on all fours, his palms aching from both, the cold ground and the hit. He still didn’t feel any of it as he stood up and pushed away the hand the reached out to help him. He was on the edge of crying, unable to believe in his own stupidity. How could he let that happen?

“Tony—“

“Don’t you fucking touch me,” he snapped back and shook his head again, walking forward as though nothing had happened.

How he wished that were the truth. That nothing had really happened, there was no Phoenix standing there, and he didn’t just ruin the Odinson family’s Christmas. He was now begging anyone who would listen to him in his head. He wanted all of it to be a bad dream and nothing more.

“Tony, please—“

“Shut up!” Tony cried out and pressed the heels of his palm to his temples, eyes screwed shut as he tried to think straight. “Just, shut the fuck up! Don’t talk to me!”

“But I have to,” Phoenix said and touched his shoulder, flinching when Tony pushed it away. “It’s not what you think it is—“

“Oh, really?” Tony snorted and turned around, doing his best not to burst into tears when he saw his face. He wasn’t sure if he was really relieved and happy to see he was safe and sound more than pissed off out of his mind. “Cause I think I just spend almost three months falling in love with a guy I didn’t even know the real name of. Correct me if I’m wrong.”

Phoenix winced and took a step forward, the expression deepening when he saw Tony taking a step back at the same time.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” he said and shyly reached out towards him. “I wanted to tell you, I swear. I just didn’t know how to do it.”

Tony laughed maniacally and shook his head one more time, ignoring the ache in his neck.

He was so stupid to let it come this far. And not even once he thought about asking him about the real name. Who did that? Only crazy people, that much was clear. He was crazy and now filled with rage. So he moved forward and threw himself at Phoenix, hitting him in the jaw before another fist landed on his stomach. Before he could do anything more someone grabbed him from behind and pulled away.

The big green eyes stared at him in shock, but all he wanted to do was to hit this pretty face again. Still, he had no chance with whoever was holding him by the arms. Then he realized that he was probably no longer welcome at the dinner, and his heart sank in his chest, his body going flat from the amount of emotions.

Tony really just wanted all of it to be over.

He didn’t see Phoenix walking closer towards him, and didn’t hear what he said exactly to the one who was gripping Tony. Stark only registered it was his voice, and a few moments later he felt the hands pulling away, and he would fall down onto the cold ground if it wasn’t for the familiar pair of arms to wrap around him.

His first instinct was to lean in, and he buried his face in the cold shirt, tears falling free only seconds later. He sobbed violently against into Phoenix’s chest, falling down onto his knees and pulling him along. He could feel strong arms wrapping around him, and he just leaned closer, his hand now clutching at the material on his boyfriend’s sides.

Phoenix kept whispering into his ear, wanting to calm him down but the effect was opposite. Tony just sobbed harder, teeth clenched hard as he tried to stop at the same time. He had no idea how long they stayed outside, but by the time he finally managed to stop shaking, both of them were wet from the snow that kept falling from the sky.

None said a single word and they just stayed close to each other for another small eternity. Tony felt so drained he couldn’t even bring himself to pull away or send Phoenix a disgusted look. But really, he wouldn’t bring himself to do that anyway.

“I’m so sorry,” he heard the soft whisper by his ear. “For everything. I was scared you would leave me when you learned the truth—“

“It was your real name,” Tony cut him off quietly. “Why would I leave you because of that?”

Phoenix’s chest trembled lightly when he let out a bitter chuckle, and he pulled Tony even closer to himself.

“Because then you’ll know I’m Thor’s brother,” he more asked than said, poking his nose into the spot behind Tony’s ear.

Tony sighed quietly and wrapped his arms loosely around Phoenix’s waist, taking in a deep breath as he thought about everything.

He should still be mad at Phoenix. For the lies, for ignoring him the past two days, for everything, really. But he couldn’t. Not when he had him this close and could hear – and feel – how scared and sorry he really was.

“So, you’re Loki, then,” he murmured and pulled away enough to look at him. “I actually wanted to meet you, you know. That was the purpose of that party at my house.”

Phoenix— Loki frowned at him and then laughed again, this time it sounded far more honest. He was relieved, too.

“If I knew that back then…” he said and cupped Tony’s cheek gently, smiling when he nuzzled and kissed his palm. “I’m really sorry, Tony. I didn’t want you to find out like that.”

“Strange. I thought that was the point when you didn’t answer any of my calls.”

Tony’s eyebrows raised a bit as he saw the sheepish smile spreading Loki’s lips, but he said nothing, waiting for an answer.

“I was thinking about what to say. I called you today,” Loki said slowly. Tony blinked at that and couldn’t believe that he was actually right, back on his way here. “And when you didn’t answer, I figured you somehow knew the truth and decided not to give a fuck about me again.”

Tony started laughing, loud and hard, his whole body shaking as he felt the tears running down his cheeks again. Just this time those were the aftermath of him laughing this hard.

“You’re so stupid,” he breathed out and still couldn’t stop, grinning like a loon the whole time. “So dumb.”

He started laughing even harder at the offended look on Loki’s face and a few moments later, when he saw his lips parting, he kissed him. His body weight made them both fall down, Loki letting out a small gasp as his back hit the ground. Tony just deepened the kiss, hands moving up to comb through his hair.

“You’re so stupid,” he repeated when they finally parted, Loki watching him in a way that made Tony’s stomach do flips. “But I still love you.”

“I love you, too,” Loki replied quietly and rolled them over with a wide smile, kissing all over Tony’s face before he settled in for a soft kiss on the lips. “You wanna get inside?”

Tony shook his head. “Nope,” he grinned and pulled Loki in for yet another kiss.


End file.
